Heat end four-game skid
Bam Adebayo had 22 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes, and the Miami Heat ended a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Adebayo went 10 for 14 from the floor before sitting out the fourth quarter as Miami coasted to the win. Caleb Martin and Terry Rozier each had 18 points.
The Pistons were trying for their first three-game winning streak since the 2021-22 season, but committed 18 turnovers that led to 33 Miami points. Simone Fontecchio scored 24 points and Jalen Duren added 15 points and 17 rebounds.
SUNS 107, HORNETS 96
Devin Booker led a balanced Phoenix attack with 21 points and 11 assists as the Suns beat the Charlotte Hornets for their fourth win in six games.
Grayson Allen and Bradley Beal each scored 15 points, and Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 13 points and 21 rebounds for the Suns (39-28), who bounced back from a lopsided 127-112 loss to the Nba-best Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Vasa Micic followed up a career-high 25-point effort on Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies with 21 points to lead Charlotte. Miles Bridges added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.
MAGIC 113, RAPTORS 103
Franz Wagner scored 19 points, Paolo Banchero had 17 and Orlando beat shorthanded Toronto handing the Raptors their seasonworst sixth straight loss.
Jalen Suggs scored 16 points, Wendell Carter Jr. added 15 and Cole Anthony had 12 for the Magic, who led by as many as 19 and have won seven of nine.
Banchero also had nine rebounds and eight assists.
Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 31 points for the Raptors and Immanuel Quickley had 10 points and 10 assists. Quickley has a career-high eight games with 10 or more assists this season, all of them coming since he was traded to Toronto last Dec. 30.
PELICANS 112, CLIPPERS 104
Zion Williamson scored 34 points and New Orleans beat Los Angeles, pulling within two games of the Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
New Orleans also won the season series, 3-1. The fourth and fifth seeds meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and the Pelicans would own the regular-season, head-to-head tiebreaker over the Clippers, if it came to that in mid-april.
Spending most of the game as New Orleans’ primary ball-handler, Williamson initiated the Pelicans’ offense and ultimately took over the game, scoring time after time on explosive moves to the hoop that were both powerful and shifty.
Trey Murphy III scored 14 points and Brandon Ingram 13 for New Orleans, which made five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep the Clippers at bay.
Paul George scored 26 points and Kawhi Leonard had 23 for Los Angeles, which played without James Harden (left shoulder strain) for a second straight game. Harden has averaged 17.4 points this season.